Martha Washington

She was born on June 2, 1731, the oldest daughter of a wealthy landowner and his wife living on a plantation in a British colony in Chest Nut Grove, Virginia. Both of her parents were descended from prominent New England families. Martha was known as quite the adventurer from her earliest years, once riding her horse up the stairs of her uncle’s home! She was married at eighteen and widowed at twenty-six, having given birth to four children and suffering the tragic loss of two of them during their childhood.

The young widow was left to manage a large estate and she did it well. Her business acumen was highly spoken of and is said to have been a part of the allure that caught the eye of a young man named George, one of the many suitors who were soon vying for her attention. After a brief courtship, the two married, and shortly thereafter her second husband became the first president of these United States by a unanimous decision and Martha became the Lady of Washington.

Having not supported her husband’s decision to seek the office, Martha refused to attend his inauguration. History records that while Martha Washington did not enjoy her years as First Lady of these United States and chaffed at the restrictions of public life, she conducted herself with dignity, serving as the gracious and able hostess of his Mount Vernon estate. It was there at Mount Vernon that Martha lost her third child and only remaining daughter at the age of seventeen. Serving as wife of our First President may not have been her dream job, but many of the practices and standards that are still observed today by our modern day First Ladies, were customs set in motion by Martha Washington more than two centuries ago.

In today’s Southern Quote, we honor the wise words of Martha Dandridge Washington, the very first Lady of Washington, who once said, “The greater part of our happiness depends on our disposition and not our circumstances.”

–Martha Washington